Question:
Mom a panniculectomy in 3 weeks, input from Post Ops needed

just wanted some advice from anyone who has had a panniculectomy. any input would be greatly appreciated. mostly wondering about post-op care. signs of blood clots, infection, etc.    — v S. (posted on April 25, 2003)

April 25, 2003
hi! i had a panni, from pregnancy, not wls, 2 yrs ago. i was in the hospital only 1 night. incision was from hip to hip, tons of staples! i had drainage tubes on both sides for a couple of weeks at least. i have to say i was bad, because i was supposed to rest for about 6 weeks, but was up and around, walking in my neighborhood, and driving. the pain was not bad, although the morphine made me vomit. they took that away and gave me percoset and i was great! all i had to do was drain the tubes when they filled up and apply ointment to the incision a couple of times a day. i showered and got it wet, and after a year or so, my scar is almost invisible. my pcp says he would not have known i had it if i hadnt told him. good luck and it is a great surgery! i had 14 lbs taken off and was flat! fat but flat! NOW i want the wls. go figure. darci
   — darci T.

April 25, 2003
hi there :) i had mine on march 27th and ive done very well with it! :) i was cut starting at the bra line down the bikini line and back up the other side so it was a very big u cut, no staples, i had 2 drains that came out 5 days post op, i did have an area that suffered alot of trauma and the care included applying antibiodic ointment so you may want to have some on hand for just in case, also youll need some of those gause pads to place along your incision after you clean it, keep your binders on as recommended and dont lie flat or walk straight for maybe a good 2 to 3 weeks, sorta stay hunched over while walking and either elevate your head or legs when sleeping. your ganna be tight in that area and you dont want to stretch anything. i also recommend one of those blow up donuts from walmart,my a$$$bone was so sore from being in the jacknife position, my stay was only overnight, i had the option of either going completely under, then waking up wiht a morphine drip, or having an epideral incerted first, then going under but only just enough to knock me out, this was highly recommended by the anestesioilogist and im so glad i listened!!!!! i woke up so fast post op and i didnt have that groggy drugged hit by a truck feeling!!!! i didnt sleep all that night cuz i was so excited about the panni being gone!!!!!! it was great, i was so alert!!!! i was taken off the epideral the next morning and placed on the oral pain med vicodin which for me worked wonders!!! one thing i noticed is that due to the fact that i did not have any morphine this time i did not suffer post op depression what so ever, ive only had 2 other surgerys in my life, galbadder removal and open rny and with both i had morhine drip for pain and i got really bad post op blues. walking helps promote healing but nothing vigorous for atleast 6 to 8 weeks i think, ive been doing alot of walking for exercise but i cant wait til i can swim and ride my bike and all that good stuff! best of luck to you! :)
   — carrie M.

April 25, 2003
The first thing to remember is that all surgeons have their own particular ways of doing things, from surgery through post-op care. Advice from other post-ops is always helpful, but there may be many things about your own surgery that you will find to be quite different from our experiences. I have never known a surgeon or hospital that did not give written post-op instructions which would include signs and symptoms of infection or blood clots and instructions about worrisome things that should prompt you to call your doctor. Be sure to ask these questions at your pre-op visit, and remind your family to ask again before you are discharged. Patients who have a "simple panniculectomy" during which no work is done to the underlying abdominal muscles, will generally report much less post-op discomfort than "abdominoplasty" patients who have had abdominal muscles repaired or tightened. I had a panniculectomy/brachioplasty 17 months ago and think that it was the easiest surgery I ever had...including my lap RNY! Opposite from the previous post, my surgeon encouraged me to lie flat and try to walk as upright as possible during those early post-op days, stating that I would be much less "sore" and "back on my feet faster" if I did. He is a plastic surgeon that also does not have a personal preference for binders, and right or wrong, I did great and still have a wonderfully flat, tight tummy that you could bounce a quarter off of :-) My surgery was 5 1/2 hours long, and I was offered the option of having it done in the surgical suite of his office or taking an overnight stay in the hospital. My family felt more comfortable with a hospital stay because of the length of the surgery, but in retrospect I could easily have done this as an outpatient. I had one injection of Demerol in the Recovery Room, then only took Percocet tablets for pain after that. I was walking in the halls the next morning, and was discharged home with four lower abdominal drains in place. I found the drains to be a nuisance...trying to keep them pinned up and out of the way...but completely painless, both while they were in place and when they were removed in the office. Some surgeons automatically remove drains in a week to 10 days, with the thought that patients are at a greater risk for infection if they stay in longer. Other surgeons, like mine, leave drains in until the drainage stops altogether. Sometimes, if drains are removed too early, excess fluid accumulates under the skin and needs to be withdrawn by needle at an office visit. My surgeon just preferred to avoid that, and his theory about drainage was "better out than in", so he leaves his drains in until the drainage stops on its own. My first three drains were removed at different times during the first three weeks after surgery, but my final drain stayed in place seven weeks before the drainage slowed down to an acceptable place. I had no infection or problems related to the drains. I went back to work full-time in ten days....drains strategically pinned to my underwear so that they weren't noticeable under full skirts or pull-over tops. I had an anchor incision from breastbone to pubic area, then a "smiley-face" incision from hip to hip....no external sutures or staples....only some steri-strips (small pieces of tape that pull the edges of the incision more tightly together). I was told that I could shower on the third day after surgery, and just to let the steri-strips come off on their own. I didn't have to do any special care of the incision. I did have a few days of pinkish-drainage from scattered spots along the incision during that first week, and just lightly taped some gauze pads in place just so the drainage wouldn't get all over my clothes...other than that, no problems at all. I guess I had a really positive post-op experience compared to some other patients, but hopefully you will as well! Just be sure to ask your surgeon BEFORE surgery about his usual length of operating time for this procedure....binders or not...sutures/staples, or not...his procedure for placing and removing drains....after-care of the incision...showers?...how much activity (or limits to activity) that he advises....?return to work. Next to my WLS, this was the very best thing I ever did for myself. Best wishes! :-)
   — Diana T.

Click Here to Return